A Charlotte resident, Bruce Howard Marko, 66, has been sentenced to over a year in prison for his role in a major bank fraud scheme. Russ Ferguson, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced that Marko will serve 12 months and a day, followed by two years of supervised release. Additionally, he is required to pay $1.5 million in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges related to wire fraud and bank fraud.
Marko's co-defendants, Kotto Yaphet Paul from Waxhaw, North Carolina, Latoya Tamieka Ford from Covington, Georgia, and Love Norman from West Palm Beach, Florida, have also pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and bank fraud conspiracy. Paul additionally pleaded guilty to money laundering. They are awaiting sentencing.
The fraudulent activities date back to 2018, where Marko and his co-defendants, along with individual named Peebles, orchestrated a scheme that defrauded 17 federally insured financial institutions of over $17 million. Marko himself was directly involved in five loans totaling $2.8 million. The fraudulent scheme involved submitting fake loan applications with incorrect employment and income information, false tax returns, and other misrepresentations. These led to at least 42 loans, where the funds were misused for buying real estate, covering business expenses, and personal expenditures. Most loans defaulted, leading to significant losses for the banks.
Four others involved in the scheme were previously sentenced. Amrish D. Patel received a 15-month prison sentence; Dwight A. Peebles, Jr. was sentenced to 18 months; Denise Woodard to 36 months; and Derrick L. Harrison to a year and a day. Restitution orders ranged from $620,000 to more than $3.1 million.
The announcement was made possible by the efforts of the Office of the Inspector General of various federal financial agencies, along with the FBI and IRS's Criminal Investigation unit in Charlotte. Prosecuting the case is Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Gast from the Asheville division.
